By Jennifer Waters
1 hour ago
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You’re not
likely to keep them anyway, according to the University of Scranton,
which has found that of the 45% of Americans who make New Year’s
resolutions, a mere 8% actually achieve them.
Instead, embrace
tiny habits that may not necessarily help you lose weight, learn
Mandarin or get organized but, with little to no effort, will fatten
your bank account.
Track your spending.
It’s easy if somewhat arduous to jot notes on a smartphone or tablet
every time you put gas in the car or stop for a coffee, but if you do,
you will be amazed at how quickly money can slip through your hands.
There are sites you can turn to for help, like Mint.com, Quicken or
Geezeo, that will do the math for you. Most banks offer tracking and
budgeting services through sites like these too.
Balance cash in, cash out.
Now that you’re seeing where the money is going, chart it against your
other expenses. We’re talking about everything from housing, food and
clothing to movie-going, dining out and getting manicures and pedicures.
It’s pretty simple to calculate if you’re spending more than you’re
bringing in. Now you can see just how, where and why you’re doing it.
Acknowledging the problem is the first step to solving it.
Be realistic.
If you absolutely don’t see yourself brewing your own coffee every day —
despite the estimated $2,400 in annual savings — limit the java stop to
once a day, rather than twice, or to a less-expensive coffee shop.
Do
the same with savings and paying off debt. Socking away $50 a week is
psychologically easier than $200 a month, though the result is the same.
Paying off a $2,500 credit-card bill can be done in $500 increments.
Automate it all.
Raise your hand if you promised yourself that you’d transfer money from
one account to a savings account and, oops, just forgot. Or planned on
paying that bill by the due date but that too slipped your mind.
Automate those duties so you don’t end up making excuses when you don’t
get to it yourself.
Aim to be fee-less.
Interest fees, late fees, ATM withdrawal fees, checking-account fees —
heck, any banking fees can be avoided by choosing the right financial
institution and products, and automating bill payments. And if you’re
lousy at balancing your accounts and don’t have a cushion account to
cover you, make sure you have overdraft protection on your accounts.
Cut the cord.
Cable TV can be a costly proposition and there are a number of ways you
can cut the cord without missing out on “Homeland” or replays of
“Breaking Bad,” though live sports can be an issue. But you don’t even
have to give up the cable to cut the bills. Cable companies, which are
losing customers to the likes of Hulu and Roku, are willing to negotiate
to retain customers. Just take the time to call them, or send them a
tweet.
Negotiate other bills.
Follow the cable lead and make some calls to rework other monthly tabs
like credit-card interest rates, auto and home insurance costs, even
cell phone bills.
“Carve out
an hour or two at the beginning of this year to check the rates you are
paying on all your bills,” says Gerri Detweiler, director of consumer
education for Credit.com. “That time can pay off handsomely all year
long.”
Chances are there are
untapped discounts or new offers available. And if they can’t slash some
of your costs, you might get more bells and whistles, which makes the
dollars spent a better value. Check out competitor’s promotions too and
ask your provider to match the prices.
And
an extra bonus, if you can cut the interest rates on your credit-card
bills, you can get out of debt that much quicker. That’s assuming, of
course, you aren’t running the bills up as you pay them off.
Rethink 2013 offers.
There’s probably a few “free trial” or “0% one-year interest-rate”
offers you grabbed in 2012 and 2013 that have now lost their luster. You
can find another credit-card promotion like that and transfer your
balance or make sure that you never carry a balance month to month since
that 0% is probably now about 15% or higher.
Improve your health.
Every year, losing weight takes the top spot on most American’s New
Year’s list, followed closely by vows to quit smoking or drinking too
much. It’s no wonder, considering that not only can it improve your
disposition and physical well-being, it will make an impression on your
wallet.
“Studies show that
being overweight or smoking translates to thousands of dollars in
additional medical costs over the course of your lifetime,” says
Odysseas Papadimitriou, chief executive of CardHub.com. “And that
doesn’t even speak to lost productivity due to a lack of energy, the
added insurance burden, or money wasted on quick-fix health-improvement
schemes.”
Nor does it speak to
that big chunk of money, estimated at upwards of $3,600 a year for a
one-pack-a-day smoker, that you’ll keep in your pocket.
Find ways to stay motivated.
Making a plan to cut spending and save money is easier said than done,
so it’s important to make yourself accountable. Start by telling your
family and friends what your goals are and ask them to help you keep it
up. Heck, announce it to the masses on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
for crowd-sourcing encouragement. There’s nothing like a thumbs up or
smiley face to keep you going.
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